"Arrest Secondus now", Group tells DSS, Police

Secondus had said there would be war if the 2019 general election was rigged.

The PDP chairman who express concerns over the ability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a free and fair election in 2019.

In a statement made available to Pulse on Friday, February 1, 2019, the group'e Secretary-General, Bolaji Abdulkadir, accused the PDP chairman of plotting to cause civil unrest either during or after the election.

Abdulkadir urged the Police and Department of State Services (DSS) to invite Secondus for questioning.

“The threat by the PDP National Chairman implies that he expects that his party must be announced the winner of the election even when if it loses," he said.

"This is not justifiable under any circumstances in a country where there are laws. This is especially so when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured of conducting elections that are internationally acceptable while President Muhammadu Buhari has directed all the agencies with roles in the polls to abide by the rules.

“It will however seem that the PDP with its officials and chieftains are resolute on doing everything to undermine the elections, degrade their credibility even before they are conducted and reject results that they are already projected to lose.

“The PDP is aware of its low acceptability among Nigerian voters because of its record of wasted opportunities so it has now resorted to threats to force itself on the country.

“Constantly creating the impression that the general elections would be rigged in favour of the ruling party has therefore become the stock in trade of the PDP to the extent that not even its members take the party seriously anymore hence the ill-advised strategy of threatening war against the country.

"The implication of the threat from PDP is that it would unleash violence on the country when the results are announced and it loses fairly and squarely.

“Several groups with a few individuals and the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had raised the alarm in the past that the PDP has perfected plans to cause widespread violence as part of a plot to force an interim government on the country because it knows it will lose the election. Secondus’ threat is the clearest confirmation yet that this plot is real and is now in its implementation stage.

“We call on the DSS and the Nigerian Police Force to immediately arrest and question Secondus to explain what he meant by declaring war. It is our belief that this matter should not be treated with levity given the earlier revelation that the PDP has positioned terrorists, extremists, separatists and foreign mercenaries to unleash violence in different parts of the country.

“A failure to arrest Secondus and any other person that threaten war against Nigeria over the elections will make these law enforcement agencies accessories to any breakdown of law and order carried out by the PDP.”

He, however, urged the INEC and security agencies not to fall for such "cheap threats".